How To Get Away
by Mr. Frank
Summary: It's hard work trying to train a village full of Vikings into becoming Dragon Riders. The teens decide that they, and their dragons, are in need of a break and some bonding time. Flying, forests, and fire breathers--camping has never been this much fun.


**I've already seen this wonderful movie twice in theaters, and if I could, I would see it again and again. To try and make up for my lack of movie funds, I've been overdosing on the equally wonderful soundtrack, which is where the inspiration for this came from. I wanted to explore the life of Hiccup and friends, and their relationships with their dragons. The dragon's names came from a combination of taking from the books, the character's Facebook pages (which are hilarious), and my own ingenuity. I'm considering adding more chapters, so let me know what you think!**

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"No, no, no!" Hiccup shouted, bolting forward and grabbing onto the harness of a Deadly Nadder that was about to launch itself into the air. The dragon cried out in surprise as Hiccup jerked it downwards, causing it to stumble forward. The rider on its back yelped in shock, having not expected his mount to suddenly dip so far frontwards, and rolled forward out of his saddle, catching on the dragon's crown of yellow horns. The Deadly Nadder blinked in surprise, then snorted and, with a vigorous shake of its head, dislodged the poor Viking, who landed on the ground with a _thud_.

"Sorry, sorry," Hiccup cried, bending down to look at the Viking under the Nadder's neck. "Are you okay?"

"Uh," the Viking said, looking stunned, before mumbling a, "I'm fine."

"Oh, good," Hiccup sighed. "So, ready to try again?"

"Uh," the Viking said again, turning to look at the Nadder, who had turned its head sideways, and was watching the Viking through one wide, yellow eye. It ruffled its wings when it caught the Viking staring, and chirruped, a plume of smoke escaping its nose with the sound. The Viking simply stared.

Across the other side of the training ring, Astrid was having similar problems with her own student. Unlike his fellow Viking, this man had been able to successfully mount his new stead and ride it, at least on ground level. The problem was he still had yet to master steering. Astrid had struggled valiantly to try and explain that the dragon responded to your shifting weight and the way you pulled the harness, but all that had resulted in was a Viking who had somehow gotten the straps to his saddle all tangled and pulled to one side.

Which was why the Nadder was currently completing its eleventh lap around the training arena.

"Whoa, whoa," the Viking astride it bellowed, "stop you dumb beast!" His shouts earned himself the same the response they had during the first ten laps, which wasn't much beyond a one eyed glare and the dragon's occasional attempt to buck the man off.

"You have to lean back," Astrid called halfheartedly as the dragon trotted past yet again. "Center your weight, and he'll stop." The Viking did the opposite, falling to the side as the Deadly Nadder bucked once more. Sighing, Astrid let her head fall into her hand as, with another flap of its wings and a jerk to the side, the Nadder finally succeeded in dismounting its incompetent host. Then, with a satisfied snort, it turned and meandered its way back through the open double doors leading into the Nadder pen.

"We'll try again tomorrow, shall we?" Astrid said as the disgruntled Viking picked himself up and shouted a string of obscenities after his dragon. The response he got was a jet of fire that sent the burly man bolting out of the training arena's doors.

"Looks like you're having about the same luck as we did."

Astrid rolled her eyes as she met Tuffnut's gaze, the blonde boy staring after the fleeing Viking with a raised eyebrow before turning and grinning at his fellow teen. Astrid felt her own brows rise at the sight of her fellow dragon trainer. The boy was covered in black, sooty smudges, the fur on his clothes and the tips of his hair charred.

"What happened to you?" she asked. Tuffnut simply shrugged.

"_He's _what happened," a new voice spat, Ruffnut appearing at her brother's side. Her appearance was almost the opposite of Tuffnut's—instead of burns and smoke, Ruffnut was, from helm to boot, sopping wet. She was jabbing a dripping thumb over her shoulder, motioning to the two headed dragon that was following the twins.

The Hideous Zippleback was currently focused on itself, its two heads snapping and snarling at one another angrily. They were so intent on their bickering that the two heads failed to notice the archway of the training arena approaching, which resulted in their horned heads colliding with it with twin _crack_s. Tuffnut and Ruffnut rolled their eyes together, sighing as one as the Zippleback pulled back and shook its stunned heads before ducking down and continuing under the stone arch.

"Stupid animal," Ruffnut muttered, though not unkindly, as the dragon fell gracelessly down beside the pair, its matching heads hovering over its rider's shoulders. Astrid was unsurprised to note that, unlike its wet and grimy riders, the dragon was impeccably clean.

"Looks like Hiccup's almost done for the day too," Tuffnut said, pointing out the rider-less Deadly Nadder that was trotting past. The group then turned their attention to Hiccup, who was escorting a limping Viking to the exit.

"We'll just have to try again tomorrow," he said to the rather off put looking Viking. The older man muttered something in return, before straightening his helmet and, with a nervous look at the twins and their Zippleback, making a hasty exit. Hiccup sighed, turning to look at his friends and shaking his head. "He's not coming back."

"You think?" Tuffnut asked, while Ruffnut laughed, the sound echoed by Toothless, who was lolling about on the ground near the Nadder pen. Astrid's dragon, who was sitting perched beside the Night Fury, looked down at the black dragon with wide, curious eyes. She then turned to look at the humans, cocked her head to the side, and squawked loudly.

"Hush, Naddie," Astrid said, as whatever the dragon had said sent Toothless into another fit of laughter. Even the twin's Zippleback was laughing now.

"What's so funny?" Everyone shrugged as Fishlegs made his way into the training arena. Like the twins, Fishlegs looked like he too had seen his share of troubles while training what would eventually become the dragon riding Vikings of Berk. He was covered in dirt smudges and tiny scratches, no doubt caused by his lazy dragon's unique ability to drift off asleep in virtually any place—the sky included. The Gronckle, also covered in dirt and small uprooted plants, dropped to the ground as soon as his rider came to a stop and curled up to sleep.

"That didn't take long," Ruffnut muttered, leaning forward to get a better look at the sleeping dragon.

"It's not his fault he's so tired," Fishlegs defended loyally. "Seaslug's been working hard all week." Seaslug chose that moment to let lose a tremendous snore, as if in agreement with the teen.

"He's not the only one," a new voice muttered, a moment before Snotloud trudged into view, his Monstrous Nightmare following along in his wake. "You know," he continued as he reached the group, "I'm starting to think we should just let the other Vikings figure out all this dragon training business for themselves."

"That's not very nice," Astrid admonished, although she didn't sound very sincere as she said it. Snotloud shrugged.

"Hey, we did, didn't we?" he asked.

"Uh, not really," Fishlegs said, motioning to Hiccup when Snotloud looked his way. The shorter Viking rolled his eyes but, unable to think of a good retort, chose not to respond.

"Can you guys cool it?" Ruffnut said, sighing. "I'm not really in the mood to listen to you all fighting right now." This earned the female Viking an incredulous snort from Snotloud.

"Us fighting?" he asked. "What about you guys?" He motioned to Ruffnut and her brother. "When do we ever get a break from listening to you guys fighting?"

"What are you trying to say?" Tuffnut asked, scowling at Snotloud.

"Oh, I don't know," Snotloud said, "maybe that you two, you know, fight all the time?"

"We do not!" both twins cried at once. Behind them their dragon growled, picking up on its rider's agitation. Snotloud's dragon snarled back, black smoke starting to leak out from between its jaws.

"Uh, guys," Hiccup said, glancing anxiously between the teens and their glaring dragons.

"Yes you do," Snotloud said, ignoring Hiccup.

"Oh yeah?" Ruffnut said, stepping forward. Her dragon's head followed.

"Yeah," Snotloud said, stepping forward as well.

"Guys, I don't think you should…" Hiccup said, also taking a step towards the bickering pair. Again, they ignored him.

"How about I show you fighting?" Tuffnut said, pushing past his sister. The dragon head that followed him was already starting to spew green vapors. Very combustible green vapors.

"Guys!" Hiccup shouted, shoving himself between Snotloud and Tuffnut, "Cut it out!" Blinking in surprise, the two boys backed off, Tuffnut absently waving away his dragon's fumes while Snotloud looked away. Hiccup frowned at them both. "What is wrong with you guys?" he asked.

"Sorry," Tuffnut muttered. Snotloud remained silent, until his dragon nudged him.

"Fine," he muttered at the beast, before glancing at Hiccup. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"We're just tired and…stuff," Ruffnut offered with a shrug. Hiccup sighed, his anger dissipating.

"I know," he said, offering the girl a smile. "So am I."

"I think we're _all _a little tired," Astrid said, joining to group.

"More like a lot tired," Fishlegs corrected. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Man," Snotloud said, falling back against his dragon and sliding down her leg until he was sitting on the ground. "I always thought riding dragons was fun. Who would have thought it would become such a…"

"A chore?" Ruffnut suggested with a huff. Snotloud nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "A chore."

"I hate chores," Tuffnut grumbled, dropping down to sit beside his own dragon. He turned to look at the head hovering beside him. "Right, Varg?" Varg grumbled, nodding his head vigorously in agreement. The other head grumbled too, dropping into Ruffnut's lap as she sat beside her brother.

"Ork hates them too," she announced.

"Who doesn't?" Astrid asked, as she and Hiccup sat as well. Naddie and Toothless came and joined their riders, settling down beside them.

"It's like all we do now is train people," Fishlegs said. "We never get to just ride for fun." He sighed, picking at a spot on the ground. "I kind of miss it." His fellow Vikings sighed with him.

"Me too," they said, while their dragons all keened in agreement. Hiccup sighed, scratching at Toothless's neck as he considered Fishlegs's words. It was true. The group had become so busy since the integration of dragons into everyday Viking life that they really hadn't been given any time for just themselves. Time they could spend with their dragons alone, doing whatever they pleased.

Looking up at his friends, all of whom were draped about, frowning as they reminisced on their brief period of freedom with their dragon companions, a thought occurred to Hiccup. Why _couldn't _they still have that free time? Why couldn't they still go flying, just them and their dragons? It was good for them, after all. It helped build the relationship between a human and his dragon. It would also relieve stress, which, if the way they were griping just minutes ago was any indication, was something they sorely needed.

"That's it," Hiccup announced, startling the group. They stared at him with looks of varying confusion.

"What's it?" Astrid asked. She quirked an eyebrow when Hiccup beamed at her.

"We all need a break."

"A break?" Ruffnut repeated. Hiccup nodded.

"A…a vacation. Some time away from all of this training and working. Some time to just relax for a little while."

"A vacation," Fishlegs sighed dreamily. Seaslug, who had aroused himself to listen to the conversation, rumbled appreciatively at the thought of a break.

"That would be nice," Tuffnut agreed, smiling wistfully as he leaned back against his dragon.

"Yeah, but when could we take a vacation?" Snotloud asked. "It's not like the village would be able to manage all these dragons if we just up and left you know."

"We don't have to be gone for long," Hiccup said. "Not even a full day. We could go fly somewhere to spend the night, somewhere away from the town, just to get away for a little while." He could see even Snotloud's resolve was crumbling under the desperate need they all shared for just a little bit of away time.

"It sounds wonderful," Astrid said, "it really does. But when could we possibly do it?" Hiccup hadn't even considered a time yet, and so he surprised even himself when he announced,

"Tonight."

Even the dragons seemed to be looking at him incredulously.

"You're kidding, right?" Astrid asked, keeping her voice level. Hiccup shook his head.

"I'm not."

"Tonight?" she repeated slowly.

"Tonight."

"That's," Astrid faltered, "but we…what about the villagers?"

"They can figure out how to handle a pack of dragons without us for one night," Hiccup replied. He glanced at Snotloud as he added, "we did it, didn't we?" Snotloud stared at the smaller boy for a moment, before a grin slowly spread across his face.

"You," he said, pointing to Hiccup, "are a genius." Hiccup sat a little straighter, squaring his shoulders.

"I know—ow, hey!" he yelped, spinning around to glare at Toothless, who had swatted him with one of his large paws. Frowning at the Night Fury, Hiccup slowly turned back to his friends. "So, who's with me?"

"I'm in," Snotloud said immediately, jumping to his feet. "Fireworm too," he added, patting his dragon's muzzle.

"Me too!" Tuffnut and Ruffnut shouted in unison, also jumping up. Varg and Ork snorted in surprise as their riders grabbed their heads and announced, also in unison, that, "he's coming too."

Grinning, Hiccup used Toothless to push himself to his mismatched feet. "Well?" he asked, glancing at Astrid and Fishlegs.

"I'm in," Fishlegs said, also standing. Seaslug grunted, small wings thrumming to life as he lifted off the ground, hovering at Fishlegs's shoulder.

"Astrid?" Hiccup asked, turning to the remaining Viking teen. She blinked up at him as he reached out, offering her his hand. "Are you coming with us?" She stared at him, open mouthed, before her expression shifted to a grin and she grabbed his hand.

"Of course I am." Naddie squawked happily as Astrid got up and, in a single fluid motion, mounted her dragon. Her grin was contagious, spreading to the others and they whooped and cheered, all of them scrambling atop their own mounts.

"So, where are we going?" Astrid asked as the group directed their dragons towards the exit. Hiccup shrugged, as Toothless started trotting out towards the bridge connecting the arena to the mainland.

"I hadn't really thought about it," he admitted, as the group emerged out into the open. "I guess we'll just figure it out when we get there." Astrid blinked at him for a moment, her grin slowly creeping back across her face.

"Alright," she said, nudging her Nadder forward. She flashed Hiccup a mischievous look. "Well, wherever we're going," she leaned forward, gripping her saddle tightly, "I bet I get there first!" With two long strides Naddie bolted ahead of the group, flapping her powerful wings and darting up into the sky.

"Yeah right!" Snotloud shouted, Fireworm roaring in agreement as she ran forward. The Monstrous Nightmare chose to dive over the side of the bridge, spreading her wings to catch the wind and start climbing after the rapidly retreating Deadly Nader and her laughing rider.

"Let's get going!" Tuffnut shouted at his own dragon. "You don't want to lose to _them, _do you?"

"Of course you don't!" Ruffnut answered for the dragon, giving her own head a shove. Both heads roared, lunging forward and, after a few ungainly flaps of its wings, the Zippleback took to the air as well.

"Looks like they're more excited about your plan than you are," Fishlegs laughed to Hiccup as Seaslug hovered past, the hulking dragon setting his own pace as he too took to the skies. Hiccup smiled, feeling rather proud of himself as he watched his friends taking to the air, shouting and jeering at one another as their dragons fought to pass one another in their race to the clouds above.

"About time we got to have some fun, right Toothless?" he asked, tilting his head to meet his dragon's green eyed stare. Toothless rumbled pleasantly in agreement. Hiccup's smile widened. "What do you say we join them?"

Toothless's response was an excited roar. Crouching down, pointing his blunt nose skyward, Toothless let loose another roar, the sound reverberating in his chest. Expanding his vast wings the dragon shifted his weight, waiting for Hiccup. The boy moved his leg, tilting the stirrup downwards and causing the Fury's makeshift tail fin to extend with a _whoosh _of fabric against stone.

A single flap of his massive wings was all Toothless needed to launch them upwards, the leathery appendages beating against the open air as they rocketed towards the heavens.

It was exhilarating. Hiccup couldn't believe that in all his time earthbound, he'd somehow forgotten the rush of unfettered, wild flight. It was like he was back on his dragon for the first time, experiencing every thrilling dip, roll, and dive like it was something completely undiscovered. Releasing his dragon's harness, Hiccup leaned back, reaching his arms high over his head as Toothless burst through the clouds.

"Woohoo!" he cheered. Toothless roared with him, and the other teens responded in kind as their dragons came together, all cheering and screaming. Bellowing happily, Toothless tucked his wings in and began to freefall. Roaring with him, the other dragons quickly followed suit.

"This is awesome!" Snotloud bellowed as his dragon drew level with Toothless. On his other side, the twins were also starting to pass the black dragon, their Zippleback flapping its wings to make its self fall even faster.

"Come on Toothless," Hiccup urged, pressing himself low in his saddle. "I know you can beat them!" Rumbling in agreement, Toothless tucked his wings flush against his body. Immediately his speed almost doubled, and he whistled past the other dragons. Hiccup could hear the others cheering him on as he rocketed towards the water, its shimmering surface rushing up to meet them. Rumbling curiously, Toothless tilted his head to glance back at Hiccup.

"Don't worry boy," Hiccup whispered, "I got us."

And he did. Right before dragon and rider would have crashed through the surface Hiccup shifted his leg, extending fully the Night Fury's tailfin. Throwing out his wings, Toothless straightened out, gliding over top of the waves.

"That was amazing!" Fishlegs shouted as he and the others appeared back at Hiccup's side.

"Uh, thanks," Hiccup replied, as Toothless keened proudly.

"Yeah, that was pretty cool." Turning his head, Hiccup was startled to find Ruffnut hovering less than six inches away, her dragon having extended its long neck out over Toothless's wing. She grinned flirtatiously when she spotted him looking her way.

"Back off, Ruff!" someone shouted, a moment before the Deadly Nadder up above squawked in warning. Ork and Toothless jerked away from one another so quickly they almost dislodged their riders, crying out in surprise as a jet of flame shot through the gap between them.

"Hey, watch it!" Ruffnut shouted as Astrid swooped down to fill the opening between the two dragons. Astrid gave her fellow female Viking a smug grin, but it went unnoticed as Ruffnut's attention was successfully diverted by her brother's taunting.

"Yeah, yeah, it was kinda cool I guess," Snotloud said as he appeared on Fishlegs's other side. When Hiccup looked his way, the larger Viking gave him a mischievous grin. "But I bet you can't do it twice." Hiccup was grinning without realizing it while beneath him Toothless huffed at the other Viking.

"You're on."


End file.
